University College London. Financial Regulations Updated July 2014

Transcription

1 University College London Financial Regulations Updated July 2014

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3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 FINANCIAL GOVERNANCE 2 3 FINANCIAL PLANNING AND STRATEGY 6 4 BUDGET MANAGEMENT: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 7 5 PURCHASING: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 11 6 STAFF EXPENDITURE APPROVAL PROCESS 12 7 NON-PAY EXPENDITURE APPROVAL PROCESS 13 8 PAYROLL AND PENSIONS 18 9 INCOME COLLECTION AND TREASURY MANAGEMENT INCOME FROM FEES AND DONATIONS RESEARCH AND Doctoral TRAINING GRANTS AND CONTRACTS CONSULTANCY AND OTHER SERVICES RENDERED ASSETS FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AUDIT OTHER ENTITIES 40

4 1 INTRODUCTION These Financial Regulations set out the responsibilities and policies for financial management and control within UCL. Their purpose is to provide control over the totality of UCL s resources and provide management with assurance that the resources are being properly applied for the achievement of UCL s strategic plan. The financial objectives of UCL also referred to herein as the University, are: securing long-term financial sustainability and sustaining the level of capital investment necessary to achieve its academic objectives operating at the highest levels of efficiency, reducing overheads and eliminating waste providing effective control over the use of public funds ensuring that the University complies with all relevant legislation safeguarding the assets of the University The regulations cover all financial matters, from minor purchases out of petty cash to major expenditure on building projects. They apply to UCL and all its subsidiary undertakings. In some areas, UCL has detailed financial and purchasing procedures which set out precisely how these regulations will be implemented and these should be followed in all instances. Compliance with financial regulations and associated procedures is compulsory for all staff, students and visitors connected with the UCL. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action. It is the responsibility of Senior Managers to ensure that their staff are made aware of the existence and content of UCL s financial regulations and understand and comply with them. The Financial Regulations have been authorised and approved by UCL s Council. The Director of Finance and Business Affairs (FD) will review them regularly to ensure that they remain up-to-date and effective. Changes to the Financial Regulations must be approved by Council or Finance Committee. Where the regulations do not cover a situation or are unclear, the advice of the FD must be obtained. The FD should be notified where new legislation conflicts with these regulations. The term Senior Manager is used throughout the text to describe the Provost, Vice Provosts, Deans of Faculty, Professional Services (PS) Directors and Heads of Department. 1

5 2 FINANCIAL GOVERNANCE 2.1 Background The provisions of these Financial Regulations are subject to: UCL s Charter and Statutes the Financial Memorandum between the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and University College London relevant legislation as a result of UCL s charitable status 2.2 Charter and Statutes UCL is regulated by the Royal Charter and Statutes granted to it as a college of the University of London. The Statutes may be amended by Council, but these amendments must be approved by the Privy Council. Subject to the Charter and Statutes, Council may make such Regulations as are necessary for carrying out the objects of UCL. 2.3 Financial Memorandum with the Funding Council Since 1st June 1989, UCL has been regulated by a Financial Memorandum between itself and HEFCE, as required under the Education Reform Act This sets out the terms and conditions on which the HEFCE grant is made, and includes a requirement that UCL has sound systems of financial and management control. 2.4 Charitable Status UCL is an exempt charity in accordance with the Charities Act 2006 and HEFCE acts on behalf of the Charity Commission as its principal regulator. 2.5 Council and Council Committees Council UCL is a college of the University of London. The Charter defines the Council as the governing body of UCL and it has governance responsibilities, a number of which it delegates to Committees or specific individuals. In accordance with the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) Code of Practice on Governance in Higher Education, the principal committees of Council are: Audit Committee Finance Committee Nominations Committee Remuneration and Strategy Committee 2

6 2.6 Risk Management Under the terms of the Financial Memorandum with HEFCE, UCL must ensure that it has an effective policy of risk management, incorporating appropriate insurance arrangements. Its arrangements should consider the key principles set out in the HEFCE Accounts Direction to Higher Education Institutions, which notes that effective risk management: - covers all risks governance, management, quality, reputation and financial but is focused on the most important key risks - produces a balanced portfolio of risk exposure - is based on a clearly articulated policy and approach - requires regular monitoring and review, giving rise to action where appropriate - needs to be managed by an identified individual and involve the demonstrable commitment of governors, academics and officers - is integrated into normal business processes and aligned to the strategic objectives of the organisation UCL acknowledges the risks inherent in its business, and is committed to managing the risks that pose a significant threat to the achievement of its business objectives and financial health. Council has overall responsibility for ensuring there is a risk management strategy and a common approach to the management of risk throughout UCL through the development, implementation and embedding within the organisation of a formal, structured risk management process. The Vice-Provost (Operations) has responsibility for defining and implementing the process. The following principles outline UCL s approach to risk management and internal control: - Senior Managers are responsible for encouraging good risk management practice within their areas of responsibility, including the assignment of the management of risks to individuals - key risk indicators are identified, closely monitored on a regular basis by Senior Managers and reported to Council Detailed guidance on the level of risk considered acceptable by UCL is set out in the Risk Management Policy. 3

7 2.7 Functions with Special Financial Responsibilities Provost The Provost is UCL s designated officer responsible for the financial administration of UCL s affairs. The Provost will need to satisfy Council that the conditions in the Funding Council memorandum are complied with, and may be required to appear before the Public Accounts Committee on matters relating to grants to UCL. The Provost must advise Council if, at any time, any action or policy under consideration by Council appears to be incompatible with the terms of the memorandum. If Council decides nevertheless to proceed, the Provost must immediately inform the Chief Executive of the Funding Council in writing The Treasurer The Treasurer is elected, normally for a three-year term, from among the lay members of Council. The Treasurer is Chair of the Finance Committee and Investments Committee, and is responsible for satisfying the Council that the overall stewardship of UCL's finances is sound. In discharging these responsibilities, the Treasurer works closely with the Provost and with senior administrative officers of UCL, notably the Vice-Provost (Operations) and the Director of Finance and Business Affairs Provost s Senior Management Team (SMT) The purpose of the Provost s Senior Management Team is to advise the Provost, and through him the Council, on all university business. SMT will normally meet weekly and at least one meeting each quarter will be dedicated to an update from the FD. The Estates Management Committee, Human Resources Policy Committee and Information Services Governance Committee will meet regularly Director of Finance and Business Affairs (FD) The FD is responsible to the Treasurer for: - preparing a financial strategy to support UCL s objectives - preparing annual capital and revenue budgets and longer term financial plans - preparing accounts and management information, monitoring and control of expenditure against budgets and all financial operations - preparing UCL s annual accounts and other financial statements and returns which the University is required to submit to other authorities - ensuring that UCL maintains satisfactory financial systems and the integrity of those systems - exercising supervision and control of accounting arrangements and standards - providing professional advice on all matters relating to financial policies and procedures - liaison with internal and external auditors in order to achieve efficient processes 4

8 The FD has delegated certain responsibilities to specific individuals on an ongoing basis, and those delegations are included in this document. In particular, responsibility is delegated to the School Finance Directors, the Director, Financial Control & Analysis and the Director, Financial Planning & Strategy (collectively called School Finance Directors (SFD) for the rest of this document) Power to enter into contracts Where a contract is for services, whether received by or undertaken by UCL, which take place over more than one year, the approval should be based on the total value of the contract being entered into or in the case of an open-ended contract, the value for the likely term of the contract (e.g. 5 years). UCL operates a system of delegated authorisation, with staff in departments approving expenditure over which they have budgetary control. UCL has defined some examples of contract types this list should not be considered exhaustive and advice should be taken from Finance and Business Affairs if necessary. These limits also apply to purchasing goods on UCL s behalf, without a formal contract being in place. 2.8 Responsibilities of All Staff General responsibility All members of staff have a general responsibility for the security of the UCL s property, for avoiding loss and for due economy in the use of resources. Heads of Department are responsible for ensuring that arrangements in their department are adequate to safeguard all assets and resources and that members of staff comply with UCL policies and these Financial Regulations. All members of staff should ensure that they are aware of their own financial authority. They must make available any relevant records and provide such financial and other information as may be required to comply with the University s systems of financial control and reporting. UCL must ensure that its business is conducted in accordance with the seven principles established by the Committee on Standards in Public Life selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. Members of staff at all levels are expected to observe these principles Financial irregularity UCL has a Fraud Policy in order to minimise the risk and impact of fraud, corrupt activity or other financial irregularity. If a member of staff becomes aware of any matter where he/she suspects that a financial irregularity has occurred, they must report the matter immediately to their Senior Manager, or the FD. The Senior Manager must notify the FD immediately a member of staff reports any financial irregularity. 5

9 The FD, where they consider the irregularity involves a criminal act or is in any way a disciplinary offence, must report the matter to the VP (Operations). VP (Operations) will deal with the matter in the way he/she considers to be in the best interests of the University, subject to legal constraints. The Audit Committee will be notified of the VP (Operations ) action where the irregularity involves an amount above 25k, is unusual or where there is likely to be public interest. UCL will comply with any requirements in the HEFCE Financial Memorandum to report fraud. UCL has an Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy, drawn up in the context of The Bribery Act 2010, which came into force on 1 July All staff will have access to the Compliance Officer to bring matters of concern to their attention. This is a role provided by the Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy and currently the Vice Provost (Operations) occupies this role. In normal circumstances the reporting line should be through the member of staff's Senior Manager to the Compliance Officer. The Public Interest Disclosure Act came into effect on 1st January UCL has a published policy on disclosure which is designed to enable concerns which are in the public interest to be raised at a high level in a responsible and effective manner Disclosure of interest Any member of staff who has a personal, financial or other beneficial interest in any financial arrangement to which UCL is a party or is considering becoming a party, should disclose that fact and the nature of their interest, at the earliest opportunity to the FD via their Senior Manager. The term "personal" should be understood to include situations where a member of an employee's family has an interest. Further information can be found in UCL s Declaration of Interest Policy. All interests should also be declared using the online declaration of interest return system and this should be updated annually or when there are any changes to the information declared, whichever is earliest. Once the declaration has been made, responsibility for any purchasing or contract affected by the declaration should be transferred to another member of staff Receiving gifts or hospitality UCL has a Gifts and Hospitality Policy and staff should consult this before accepting any gifts or hospitality from individuals or companies. Any gifts or hospitality received over 25 should be declared to the appropriate SFD who will maintain a register. 3 FINANCIAL PLANNING AND STRATEGY 3.1 UCL s Strategy and plans UCL s Strategy is periodically subject to a major review, followed by approval by Council. The UCL Strategy is underpinned by a number of supporting strategies and the Council and/or relevant committees review these as and when appropriate. 6

10 Each year, Senior Managers are required to consider and update their department, faculty or PS divisional plans and budgets. The assumptions for producing these will be discussed and agreed by SMT. Faculties and PS divisions will also be required to produce a higher level three year operating plan. These plans will be reviewed by the Provost, Vice-Provosts and FD and a consolidated position will be produced by Finance and Business Affairs (FBA) for discussion at Finance Committee which will then recommend its approval to Council. 3.2 Reporting The FD is responsible for reporting the budgetary position to Council. Anything affecting the overall surplus or deficit is reported to SMT, Finance Committee and Council. Senior Managers must ensure that standard returns on income and expenditure requested by the FD are completed on time. In particular, Faculties and PS Divisions will prepare: - an annual budget for the following year - monthly commentary on the actual outturn compared to the latest budget or forecast - a forecast for Finance Committee and Council at times deemed suitable by the FD - summary financial forecasts for the next three years - a year-end commentary 3.3 Budget setting SMT agrees the outline annual budget, which is informed by the latest Faculty and PS divisions strategic plans. Detailed budgets are then prepared using these underlying assumptions and targets. The FD produces agreed formats and timetables for budget preparation. These budgets will be reviewed by the Provost, Vice-Provosts and FD and a consolidated position will be produced by FBA for discussion at Finance Committee which will then recommend its approval to Council. 4 BUDGET MANAGEMENT: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4.1 Senior Managers The Senior Manager is the prime budget holder for the department, faculty or PS division. The financial organisation is a matter for a Head of Department to decide in consultation with the FD and Dean, but they are responsible for establishing and 7

11 maintaining clear lines of responsibility within their area for all financial matters. Deans are accountable to the Provost for the control of all financial matters in the Faculty and the PS Director for their division. In multi-departmental faculties, Deans will delegate the responsibility for financial matters in a department to the Head of Department. They can be required to report to Finance or Audit Committee and ultimately to Council on the financial management of their area. The Senior Manager has overall responsibility for budgetary control. They need to ensure that there is satisfactory reporting to budget holders and compliance with financial regulations. They also need to involve their management teams in this budgetary control process. The current financial position should be an agenda item on all Faculty executive boards and the equivalent for PS divisions. Senior Managers must ensure that all expenditure is on UCL activities and conforms to UCL s Financial and Procurement Regulations. The UCL Budget for the forthcoming year shall be submitted, together with a report thereon by the FD, to Finance Committee at a meeting no later than July of each financial year. The Budget, Report and Recommendations made by Finance Committee shall be considered by the Council in time for the beginning of the following financial year. The Budget, approved by the Council, represents the total income and expenditure that is expected to be received or incurred for that financial year. FBA shall monitor income and expenditure within each main heading and report significant variances to each Finance Committee, at an early stage. If appropriate, the Council shall be asked to authorise significant variations to budget. The FD will present to each Finance Committee a financial projection for the current financial year and, at least, annually a long-term financial forecast. 4.2 School Finance Teams For each School (being a number of Faculties) and PS divisions, there is a member of staff performing the role of Finance Director. Along with their team, they support the Senior Manager to ensure effective budget management. Their responsibilities include: - provision of financial management information for the Senior Manager and other members of the Faculty or PS for budgets, forecasts and long-term planning - ensuring that there is good financial management and control by adoption of the financial regulations and ensuring that all relevant staff are aware of their financial responsibilities 8

12 - budget monitoring: review of actual income and expenditure against the agreed budgets and the investigation of material variances. This is facilitated by provision of monthly reports to Budget Holders - preparation of financial information, including written commentary, in the format specified by the FD on a timely and accurate basis. This will include reporting on budgets, forecasts, actuals during the year and long-term plans and ensuring that these budgets are entered on the appropriate finance system on a timely basis - providing financial training for Budget Holders - ensure approval limits for authorised signatories are appropriate for departments - bringing to the attention of the Senior Manager and the FD any matter of serious financial concern 4.3 Budget Holders Management of the devolved budget is achieved by delegating responsibility for specific functions or activities to Budget Holders. A budget holder is a member of staff who has been assigned a budget for a particular activity and is accountable to their Senior Manager for it. They are often Academic Heads of Department (who include Directors of Divisions and Institutes), Principal Investigators and direct reports of PS Directors. Budget Holders must manage the budget in a prudent manner, adhering to Financial Regulations and procedures. They must: - ensure that no-one commits or incurs financial transactions that are not within budget, or not on agreed types of expenditure or for purposes other than those for which the funds were allocated - manage the budget in a prudent manner and ensure that value for money is achieved in any purchases - regularly monitor expenditure using the reports provided by the Finance Team or available directly from UCL s accounting system - provide such financial information for the FD and Senior Managers as may be required from time to time - adhere to financial procedures laid down by the Finance Team - attend the finance training, including Finance System training as appropriate - only approve transactions in accordance with their authorisation limits Budget Holders must be permanent members of UCL staff or on a fixed term staff contract of more than three months in duration. 9

13 4.4 Budget Managers In some cases, the control over the budget is improved by further delegation of a budget to a Budget Manager. A Budget Manager will manage the day-to-day expenditure against the agreed budget. This can be beneficial in order to share the administrative burden of budget management but does not remove the responsibility from the Budget Holder to account for the allocated funds. 4.5 Authorised Signatories Authorised Signatories are the members of staff given responsibility by their Senior Manager to approve income and expenditure commitments or transactions for specified budgets. Consequently, it is likely that they will be Budget Holders and/or Budget Managers. Their approval will be needed to commit UCL to any external expenditure or the reimbursement of expenses; this includes signing contracts on UCL s behalf. Authorised signatories are only permitted to commit to such expenditure in line with their authorisation limit. The appointment of a new signatory will be authorised by the SFD on request from a departmental administrator and the new signatory should sign the appropriate form. The list of authorised signatories will be held by FBA, within UCL s financial system, and will be used for all electronic authorisations. A scanned copy of the completed form will be held by FBA in the event that a manual signature is needed. It may also be necessary for authorised signatories to be set up on UCL s finance system in order that they may approve electronic requisitions and expense claims. This is the responsibility of the department. The departmental administrator should notify FBA when an authorised signatory leaves UCL or moves to a position where it is no longer appropriate for them to be an authorised signatory. Authorised signatories should ensure that any expenditure they approve is in line with UCL s financial regulations, including any policies which form part of these regulations. Staff shall not authorise expense claims, invoices or other similar documents received from close relatives or partners, but shall ensure these are signed by an alternative authorised signatory. The VP (Operations), FD or SFDs may remove the signing rights of any authorised signatory who does not act in accordance with UCL s financial regulations and procedures. 10

14 5 PURCHASING: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 5.1 Procurement and Purchasing Services The Procurement team are the custodians of the purchasing process for all purchasing at UCL. They are responsible for: - development and review of an approved purchasing strategy, policies & processes - audit of adherence to purchasing process and policies - training content development and delivery - devolved purchasing support - contracts review management and support - Terms and Conditions of purchase management - EU purchasing legislation process administration Full details can be found on the Procurement website. 5.2 Senior Managers with their School Finance Director Senior Managers, with their SFD, are responsible for maintaining local systems and procedures that enable them to ensure that: - University purchasing guidelines are followed - there is correct authorisation of commitments (e.g. staff expenditure and purchase orders) - there is budgetary provision to cover any commitment being made - supplies and services have been correctly and promptly receipted on the financial system before any payment is made - the payments shown on the University s accounting system are regularly reviewed and challenged if not recognised - value for money is achieved 5.3 Budget Holders Budget Holders are responsible for arranging expenditure against the agreed budget. They should ensure that the appropriate people in their teams have the knowledge and expertise to source suppliers or raise requisitions on their behalf. They are required to ensure that orders are placed in line with the Purchasing procedures. This will include: - ensuring that an official order is raised prior to obtaining goods and services from suppliers - ensuring that goods and services are obtained from preferred suppliers when available 11

15 - ensuring that the required quotation and tender processes are followed as required - ensuring that goods and services are only receipted on the finance system once they have been received and checked They must ensure that all relevant rules contained in the Financial Regulations and relevant legislation have been complied with at each of the steps of the purchasing cycle for the requisitions which they are issuing. 5.4 Training Requirements Senior Managers These should have a 1:1 briefing from their SFD Budget Holders, Budget Managers and Authorised Signatories These are required to have completed the appropriate finance training course. This is a pre-requisite for approving a new Authorised Signatory Requisitioners All staff who have a role which requires them to raise requisition on UCL s finance system should have completed the appropriate finance training course. 6 STAFF EXPENDITURE APPROVAL PROCESS 6.1 Permanent and Fixed Term Staff Recruitment of all staff must adhere to the Recruitment Authorisation process and financial approval must be obtained ahead of a job being advertised. All jobs must be recruited via ROME unless approved by the VP (Operations) or Human Resources Director (HRD). Heads of Department shall ensure that all staff in their departments follow approved recruitment, advertisement and selection policy and procedures. Newly recruited staff must be notified to the HRD via the Service in Partnership (SiP) system. All new employees must be issued with a letter of appointment and contract of employment signed by the HRD or persons designated by him/her in writing and shall clearly state that the offer is made subject to UCL receiving satisfactory references and statutory checks (such as right to work and disclosure and barring checks) where relevant. References shall be received before the appointment is confirmed. Any changes to the hours, grade, allowances or the working pattern of a member of staff shall be informed to the HRD via the SiP system, having previously followed the published HR policy and procedures. Any amendment to the terms of contract must be notified in writing to the employee. 12

16 The HRD, on behalf of the Provost, shall approve the non-pay conditions of service and terms of contract for all appointments of staff, and shall ensure that the terms of contract impose an obligation upon employees to be bound by these Financial Regulations and all other UCL policies and procedures Each Head of Department shall maintain appropriate records of staff, formally recording all absences in respect of annual leave, special leave, unpaid leave, and notifying the Human Resources Division where required. Staff whose contract of employment specifies an annual leave entitlement should take in full their leave entitlement within the leave year, unless otherwise agreed by the Head of Department. A Head of Department shall be responsible for maintaining a record for each member of staff in respect of absence through illness, injury, or other such enforced absence and notifying the HRD in a timely manner to ensure no overpayment of salary occurs. The HRD shall ensure that payments in respect of appropriately informed absences such as maternity, paternity, sickness and injury are paid in accordance with contractual and statutory requirements. 6.2 Consultancy Members of staff will adhere to the Consultancy guidelines and where appropriate complete the Annual Declaration of Interests. Where any conflict of interest may arise, this should be discussed at the earliest opportunity with the Head of Department/Dean/Provost (as appropriate). 7 NON-PAY EXPENDITURE APPROVAL PROCESS 7.1 General principles Every member of staff authorised to incur expenditure shall ensure that adequate records are maintained to control and monitor expenditure against approved limits, and shall seek to achieve value for money in all cases. FBA shall investigate any instances of unauthorised over-expenditure on a regular basis and agree, with the relevant Head of Department, action to rectify the situation, which may include the virement of other departmental funds. Each Head of Department shall promptly notify the FD of any matter involving a significant resource commitment, or potential commitment, including any proposal which has material financial implications, to ensure that such matters comply with recognised accounting policies, procedures, and planning requirements, and that necessary Committee approvals have been obtained. 13

17 FBA may approve arrangements for ordering goods and services by way of a purchasing card and settling the debt by automatic bank debit. No member of staff shall prepare or complete an invoice on behalf of a supplier. In exceptional circumstances, staff may request the permission of FBA to invoice UCL personally. 7.2 Authorisation Levels Authorisation levels are approved by Finance Committee and are documented in the Delegated Authorisation Limits. Staff who are authorised signatories may incur expenditure up to their approved limit, provided there is sufficient budget in the account which is to be charged. Expenditure should not be incurred which would take an account into deficit or make a grant overspent without prior approval from FBA. 7.3 Supplier selection When obtaining goods, services or equipment, the following limits apply in respect of quotations or tenders. The formal tendering procedures, as laid down by Procurement Services should be followed, where appropriate. Distinct procedures apply in relation to capital projects and related services and supplies. Amount Requirements i Under 5,000* Competitive quotations should be sought, where it appears that the benefits of competition are commensurate with the administrative and other costs involved ii 5,001 50,000* At least three competitive tender bids or written quotations*** iii 50, ,514** A minimum of three competitive tender bids, and where practical more than three, in order to obtain the most competitive price. Exceptions may be appropriate where the product is a standard catalogue item, in which case at least three written quotations may be appropriate rather than competitive tender bids. iv Over 172,514* EC Tendering Procedures apply except for Works contracts v Over 4,222,012* Works Contracts Only EC Tendering Procedures apply * These values include VAT; however the EU thresholds are exclusive of VAT. ** These EU thresholds are applicable from January 2012 and are generally reviewed every two years. *** To contain the cost to all parties of the tendering process, the tender list should be the minimum number consistent with effective competition. 14

18 These figures refer to the total order value. Like items should be aggregated together in order to obtain best value from the supplier. The European Commission s Supplies and Services Directives have strict rules about aggregation. It is not acceptable for orders to be subdivided into smaller amounts in order to avoid the appropriate procedures. Where the external purchase of goods, services or equipment in excess of 5,000 but below 50,000 is envisaged by a Department, no less than three written competitive quotations or tenders should be obtained. These should be obtained in writing, held securely and opened at, or close to, the same time, wherever possible. In addition, whole life costing procedures should also be applied, where appropriate. The following are exceptions for the need to obtain competitive quotations: - there is already a formal agreement in place arranged or promoted by Procurement Services or the company selected is a UCL preferred supplier - the supply is of such a specialised nature that obtaining competitive quotations/tenders is inappropriate, and the Head of Department keeps a written record to justify this view - the supply is to be financed by an external source which has imposed alternative arrangements and these are clearly identified, or - the EC Directives on the procurement of works, supplies, or services apply, and a tender process has already taken place to select an approved supplier or group of suppliers. In all circumstances the appropriate over 50k checklist must be completed and sent to Accounts Payable for review. Where a competitive tender has not been completed, the approval from the Director, Procurement should be included. Not tendering or obtaining competitive quotes may be approved in the following circumstances: - the supply is of such a nature that obtaining competitive tenders is inappropriate and the Department can justify this - the supply is to be financed by an external source, which has imposed alternative arrangements - extreme urgency exists for reasons that could not have been foreseen - the EC Directives for the procurement of supplies and services apply and the formal tender process has therefore already taken place to select an approved supplier or group of suppliers under these procedures. In cases where a formal contract has to be signed, the appropriate authorised signatory can sign this, according to their authorised financial limit. 15

19 The FD shall arrange to review, at intervals not exceeding five years, the provision of the following services: banking, insurance, external and internal audit and investment management. 7.4 Conflict of interest It is a requirement for members of staff to disclose any personal, financial or other beneficial interest with a proposed supplier in line with UCL s Declaration of Interest Policy. They should ensure that their actions when dealing with these parties are at arms length and could not give rise to any questions of bias. Where necessary, they should make Procurement aware and withdraw from the purchasing process, allowing non-conflicted staff to make the purchasing decision. 7.5 Purchase orders A purchase order should be raised on UCL s financial system and appropriately approved before goods or services are purchased. 7.6 Purchasing cards Purchasing cards may be used for low value purchases where it would not be efficient to raise a purchase order or where a purchase order cannot be used. All use should be in line with the Purchasing Card Policy. 7.7 Receipt of goods and services All goods should be received at designated addresses. They should be checked for completeness, quality and specification. The person certifying that goods or services are satisfactory should be different from the person who placed the order. Goods or services should be receipted on UCL s financial system before payment can be made. 7.8 Payment Payment of invoices Payment of invoices is managed by Accounts Payable. No invoice will be paid unless it has been matched to a purchase order and receipted on UCL s financial system. Invoices should be sent directly to Accounts Payable and not to departments. UK suppliers should be paid via BACS and international suppliers should be paid via an automated overseas currency payment routing. UCL s standard payments terms are 30 days from the date of invoice. Failure to pay on time may jeopardise UCL s credit facilities, damage its reputation and leave it vulnerable to legal action. It is budget holders responsibility to ensure that purchase orders are raised and receipted on a timely basis to ensure that invoices can be paid on time. 16

20 7.8.2 Payment in advance It is recommended that payment before delivery of goods or services is avoided. However, where such advance payments are customary because of the nature of goods or services to be supplied, purchasers should ensure that appropriate guarantees are provided by the supplier. In the case of large payments, a bank guarantee should be obtained. Where this is not possible, approval should be obtained from the Director, Procurement before monies are transferred Reimbursement of expenses Staff personal expense claims must be presented for reimbursement within three months of the expenditure being incurred and will be reimbursed via BACS to the nominated bank account. All staff should adhere to the UCL Expenses Policy and claims should be made through the iexpenses module of UCL s financial system. All claims for reimbursement of expenses, incurred by an individual in the course of UCL related business, must be supported by official receipts or some other valid form of supporting documentation, including VAT where appropriate, providing details of the purpose of expenditure Research Subject Payments Cash Floats FBA shall maintain an imprest account of such amount as may be required for making departmental research subject cash payments. FBA may provide Heads of Departments with a research subject payments cash float, for the purpose of making payments to subjects on departmental research activity. FBA will determine float values. A receipt shall be signed in respect of each float advanced to the member of staff concerned (the float holder), who shall be held responsible to account for, and arrange safe custody, of the float. Heads of Department shall ensure that adequate security arrangements are in place to hold research subject payments cash floats. Maintenance and operation of the research subject payments cash float shall be in accordance with procedures laid down by FBA and failure to comply may result in the facility being withdrawn. Under no circumstances must research subject payments cash float be used to reimburse personal expenditure, payments of wages or salaries, temporary loans to staff or students, or to cash cheques. Vouchers or receipts for research subjects cash disbursements shall be obtained, carefully preserved, and taken to the Financial Services Office with the research subjects cash float Reimbursement Form, duly reconciled and authorised by an authorised signatory. These arrangements may be varied by specific agreement with FBA (Treasury). 17

21 No individual payment out of a research subject payments cash float shall exceed the amount, set by FBA, from time to time. 7.9 Approval for Capital Projects and Long Term Maintenance Expenditure on Estates capital projects and long term maintenance shall only be incurred by the Estates division and the Estates Capital Project Approval Policy should be adhered to. The Estates tendering procedure shall be followed and approval shall be in line with the delegated authorisation limits for Estates staff. Contracts will be retained in accordance with Estates contract filing procedures. The Director of Estates shall present a progress report on all current capital projects to each meeting of Finance Committee, including a final report in respect of completed projects. The Director of Estates shall ensure that suitable arrangements are in place to secure custody of all deeds and agreements relating to land and buildings owned or leased to or by UCL. No charge shall be applied against any assets of UCL, without the prior approval of the Council. No land or buildings of UCL shall be disposed of, without the prior approval of the Council and, where appropriate, HEFCE. 8 PAYROLL AND PENSIONS 8.1 General Principles Payment of all salaries and allowances, other than expenses, shall be made through Payroll Services of the Human Resources division. Payments to staff (permanent and temporary) shall be at approved salary rates, as determined by the HRD, and having been correctly authorised. Payments to individuals, other than UCL staff, shall be supported by adequate evidence of work performed, and approved by an Authorised Signatory. Payroll Services shall not process on UCL payroll any new appointment unless it is supported by a copy of the letter of appointment signed by the HRD or delegate, confirmation that the employee has commenced employment and has supplied all documentation required to satisfy Right To Work legislation within the country of working. Heads of Department shall be responsible for notifying the HRD, in a timely manner, via the SiP system, of the resignation, termination or ending of the contract of a member of staff to ensure there is no overpayment of salary. They should also immediately notify the HRD where any newly appointed member of staff does not commence work on the given start date, is absent without authorisation or is absent 18

22 contrary to their visa requirements. 8.2 Salaries, Allowances, Fees and Bursaries The HRD is responsible for all payments of salaries, allowances, fees and bursaries, including payments for additional hours and overtime worked or other services. Only Payroll and Services will make such payments unless an exceptional arrangement has been agreed by the HRD and the FD in advance. All members of staff shall be paid according to UCL s salary scales prepared by the HRD, in consultation with the FD and the VP (Operations). Human Resources Policy Committee (HRPC) shall determine the basis of eligibility, provision, value and criteria for the receipt of non-salary benefits such as salary sacrifice arrangements, medical and insurance. Council has established a Remuneration and Strategy Committee, which is responsible for reviewing the remuneration of the Provost, Vice-Provosts, Deans and other non-clinical staff earning over 150,000 per annum. Senior Managers are responsible for ensuring the prompt submission to the HRD for all documentation to meet published deadlines for processing in the monthly payroll run. This is to ensure that employees receive their correct salaries, fees or bursaries without recourse to out of cycle payments. All new employees are paid by BACS credit transfer as a condition of employment and can only be paid when full bank details and the relevant tax and National Insurance information, has been supplied to Payroll Services. Employees are responsible for checking that they are paid correctly and informing the HRD immediately where this is incorrect. In the event that an error is made in calculating the salary of an employee resulting in an overpayment, UCL s Payroll Services reserves the right to recover the overpayment from any future salary payments due to the employee. In the event that a salary overpayment is brought to the attention of Payroll Services after the employee has left UCL's employment, Payroll Services will contact the employee to arrange an alternative method of repayment. 19

23 8.3 Casual staff Casual staff can be employed when appropriate. Departments should complete the appropriate form on UCL s human resources system and Payroll Services will be responsible for making the payment. This arrangement will only be permitted in the case of staff where payments are obviously variable and irregular. If the arrangement becomes regular, i.e. payments are made consistently, then the member of staff must receive a casual appointment form from Human Resources. 8.4 Consultancy All the staff should follow the consultancy guidelines. 8.5 Severance, early retirement and other non-recurring payments Severance payments will only be made in accordance with relevant legislation and under a scheme approved by SMT. All such payments will be calculated by the Human Resources division and authorised by the VP (Operations), HRD or Dean. All matters referred to an industrial tribunal shall be notified to the HRD at the earliest opportunity. All determinations of tribunals must be similarly notified. All non-recurrent payments to members of staff (including overtime, consultancy fees, ex-gratia payments, etc) or other individuals (including visiting lecturers, external examiners, students, models, casual labour, occasional clerical or secretarial support, etc), which are deemed to be remuneration for work done or services rendered, must be processed through Payroll Services, and shall be supported by adequately certified documentation, signed by an Authorised Signatory. Staff cannot approve payments to themselves. Such payments are subject to deduction of Income Tax and National Insurance, unless exemption has been obtained from H M Inspector of Taxes or NI Contributions Agency. 8.6 Pensions The University participates in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL), NHS Pensions Scheme, the MRC Pension Scheme, Essex Pension Scheme and the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Individual arrangements for membership are notified in contracts of employment. Members of staff are automatically enrolled in a pension scheme as required by legislation unless they specifically notify Human Resources, or their scheme, that they do not wish to join. The annual contributions are determined by the Trustees on the advice of an independent, qualified actuary on the basis of triennial valuations using the projected unit method. The current contribution rates can be found on the Human Resources website. 20

24 Council undertakes the role of employer in relation to the pension arrangements for employees. The HRD is responsible for day-to-day superannuation matters, including - submission of contributions - preparing the annual returns required by the schemes - returning details of staff joining and leaving to the schemes 8.7 PAYE and National Insurance All members of staff must have deductions for PAYE and National Insurance made from their pay in accordance with HMRC regulations. Members of staff are responsible for giving full and accurate information to Human Resources to enable Income Tax and NI to be calculated correctly. The HRD is responsible for ensuring that these payments are correctly calculated and accounted for and that they are paid over promptly, as appropriate, to HMRC. 8.8 P11D Returns UCL must submit P11D forms to HMRC. However, it is exempt from making the return for most categories of travel, subsistence and hospitality undertaken by employees wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of their duties. The FD will ensure that the UCL s procedures for recording payments to employees ensure compliance with HMRC regulations. 9 INCOME COLLECTION AND TREASURY MANAGEMENT 9.1 General The FD is responsible for ensuring that appropriate procedures are in operation to enable UCL to receive all income to which it is entitled. All receipt forms, invoices, tickets or other official documents in use and electronic collection systems must have the prior approval of the FD. It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that revenue to UCL is maximised by the efficient application of agreed procedures for the identification, collection and banking of income. In particular, this requires the prompt notification to FBA of sums due so that collection can be initiated. Staff and departments must not plan, commission, use or modify any payment card processing procedure or systems without consultation with FBA and thereafter authorisation from FBA. This includes any payment card processing activity to be undertaken on behalf of UCL or which involves any use of its IT or network equipment. This is to ensure compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. 9.2 Invoicing Each Head of Department shall ensure that all accounts for income, due to UCL, are 21

25 raised within fourteen days on an official UCL sales invoice which provides particulars of all charges to be made for work done, services rendered, or goods. Departments should follow the process defined by FBA. 9.3 Research Income Official acceptance of grants and contracts on behalf of UCL is by the Director, Research Service or another person to whom the responsibility has been delegated. The Director, Research Services is responsible for ensuring that all claims for funds, including research and doctoral training grants and contracts, are made by the due date and that all grants notified by the funding body and other bodies are received and appropriately recorded in UCL s accounts. The Director, Financial Control & Analysis is responsible for the prompt collection, security and banking of all income received. 9.4 Debt Collection Only the FD can implement credit arrangements and indicate the periods in which different types of invoice must be paid. UCL s standard credit terms are 30 days. The FD is responsible for the collection of debts due to UCL and has the authority to undertake whatever action is necessary for the recovery of these debts, including the appointment of third party collection agents and the taking of legal action. The FD will enlist the assistance of Senior Managers in the recovery of the debt, wherever this is appropriate, and provide adequate information to Faculties and Professional Services on the debt position. FBA shall ensure that - there are adequate controls over the raising of debts in respect of all UCL activities - all debts are collected promptly and - outstanding balances are reviewed regularly. Student Fees are collected by FBA and information on the payment of these can be found on the Current Students webpage. 22